Does a Christian have to believe in a young earth?
Question:
Good day!I hope you are well. I have a rather strange question. I do believe the Bible literally without question where it needs to be, but I've never really even thought of asking this question before, even though it seems to be an obvious question. The question is this: Does a Christian have to believe in a young Earth?I know it doesn't have anything to do with actual salvation, but I mean, if you accept the old Earth model, you are also inclined to believe in evolution. Now, it's possible, as I've experienced so far, that some people can do some mental gymnastics to somehow fit Adam and Eve into that process. Still, most likely, you can't believe in the fall of Adam and Eve therefore, you can't trust the Bible as a literal source of Truth, thereby affecting other beliefs that could interfere with your salvation, but for those who somehow still want to cling to the old Earth model and everything that comes with that while still believing in the truth of the New Testament (not the Old Testament as much) can it interfere with salvation?I know it's a rather long question, and I feel the answer is obvious, but I thought I'd ask since it and other things are some things I often think about as a mental exercise.Kind regards.
Answer:
As you are discovering, categorizing teachings in the Bible into essential ("salvation issues") and non-essential ("not a salvation issue") is wrong in itself. Since God doesn't do this, it makes men the judge of what is important. See A Salvation Issue for further discussion.
Thus, let's remove the distraction and focus on whether the Bible teaches the world is relatively young or incredibly old. For this, see How old is the world? After reading this, you should see that it comes down to whether a person trusts God's teachings or not.
Can a person claim to have faith in God while doubting some things God said? "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). Faith grows in a believer. There are different degrees of faith. (See: Does faith mean you never doubt?) Thus, it is possible for someone to have enough faith to start following God but has not yet learned enough to trust as deeply as another Christian. How much faith is required is what God will determine. For example, demons have some faith, but not enough, because their faith doesn't lead to their obedience (James 2:19).
All of this doesn't mean we accept falsehood, but it does mean that we have to patiently teach to help people grow so they can be saved.
"I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction" (II Timothy 4:1-2).
"The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will" (II Timothy 2:24-26).
"Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation" (II Peter 2:2).
Is the age of the Earth important? Yes. As you noted, how we perceive its age impacts much of how we understand God's teachings. Thus, we help people gain a better understanding of the reasonableness of God's claims for His world.
Response:
Thank you so much for your response; I truly appreciate it. I just needed to know how to handle a situation where someone refuses to accept a young earth but still wants to be in the body. I think you have given me more than enough advice on that one. Thank you again.
God bless you.
